Before It’s New – by Tom Dennen, the paranoid historian

… the CIA has largely escaped unscathed. “They’ve gotten a pass on a lot of this,” a former Obama administration official says. Perhaps that’s the real scandal.

GOP scandal-chasers have been obsessed with the Obama administration’s talking points about the attack on US facilities in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead, and the White House on Wednesday tried to put the pseudo-scandal to rest by releasing a batch of interagency emails related to the talking points.   Continue reading “Benghazi: What Did the CIA Know, and When Did it Know it? Forget the Talk. The CIA’s Cover Up May be the Real Mystery.”

colosheriffs12new.jpgFox News

DENVER –  Colorado sheriffs upset with gun restrictions adopted in the aftermath of last year’s mass shootings filed a federal lawsuit Friday, challenging the regulations as unconstitutional.

The lawsuit involves sheriffs from 54 of Colorado’s 64 counties, most representing rural, gun-friendly areas of the state.   Continue reading “Colorado sheriffs sue over new state gun restrictions”

Kim Jong Un is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled CNN – by Laura Smith-Spark

North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast Saturday, South Korea’s semi-official news agency Yonhap cited the South Korean Defense Ministry as saying.

The ministry said it had detected two launches in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, Yonhap reported.   Continue reading “Report: North Korea launches short-range missiles”

AFP Photo / Robert J. FluegelRT News

Even after cutting off the head of al-Qaeda, the United States Department of Defense doesn’t believe an end to the war on terror is in sight. On Thursday, one Pentagon official predicted the mission against al-Qaeda could continue for another two decades.

Speaking to the Senate Armed Services early Thursday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Michael Sheehan said the Pentagon has no plans to pull out of its almost 12-year-old war overseas.   Continue reading “Pentagon plans to fight ‘War on Terror’ for another 20 years”

International Business Times – by Sreeja VN

Russia has sold advanced Yakhont antiship cruise missiles to Syria’s President Bashar Assad led government disregarding the U.S. and allies request to stop arms sales to the regime, American officials said on Thursday.

Russia’s sale of 300 Yakhont antiship missiles, an advanced version of the S-300 antiship cruise missiles fitted with an advanced radar system to the regime is considered to be an affront to the U.S and allies attempt to bring peace to the region.   Continue reading “Russia Sold Advanced S-300 Ship Killing Missiles To Syrian President Bashar Assad, Say US Officials”

OpEd News – by Dave Johnson

You will be hearing a lot about the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. TPP’s negotiations are being held in secret with details kept secret even from our Congress. But giant corporations are in the loop.

TPP is a “trade” agreement between several Pacific-rim countries that is actually about much more than just trade. It will be sold as a trade agreement (because everyone knows that “trade” is good) but much of it appears to be (from what we know) a corporate end-run around things We the People want to do to reign in the giant corporations — like Wall Street regulation, environmental regulation and corporate taxation.   Continue reading “Upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership Looks Like Corporate Takeover”

USA Today – by Aamer Madhani and Gregory Korte

WASHINGTON — President Obama said Thursday he is naming a trusted White House budget official, Daniel Werfel, to serve as his new acting IRS commissioner.

The appointment of Werfel comes as a second top IRS official announced Thursday that he is stepping down in the aftermath of revelations that the agency targeted conservative groups for extra scrutiny.   Continue reading “Second IRS official resigns after scandal”

Baltimore Sun – by Erin Cox

Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday signed a gun-control bill that is among the country’s most sweeping legislative responses to the December mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The law bans the sale of assault-style rifles, including the AR-15 used in the Newtown killing of six educators and 20 first- and second-graders. The law limits gun ownership for people with mental illness, outlaws the sale of high-capacity magazines and establishes the nation’s first new handgun licensing scheme in two decades.   Continue reading “Maryland Governor O’Malley signs gun bill”

The Weekly Standard – by DANIEL HALPER

California congressman Devin Nunes made the claim yesterday that the Justice Department wiretapped telephones in the House of Representative’s Cloak Room, an exclusive part of the Capitol where members are able to privately interact with one another. Nunes made the claim on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show.   Continue reading “Congressman: Justice Dept. Wiretapped the House of Representative’s Cloak Room”

KGW News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Agriculture Committee has approved a sweeping farm bill that would trim the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program.

The panel approved the bill 46-10 late Wednesday after rebuffing Democratic efforts to keep the food stamp program whole.   Continue reading “House panel OKs farm bill with food stamp cuts”

Breaking: Acting commissioner of IRS resigns, Obama saysCNN

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew requested – and has accepted – the resignation of the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in the wake of its handling of requests by conservative groups for tax-exempt status, President Barack Obama said Wednesday.

The “misconduct” detailed in a report about the IRS response to those requests is “inexcusable,” he said.   Continue reading “Acting commissioner of IRS resigns, Obama says”

irs happyGateway Pundit – by Jim Hoft

The IRS is facing a lawsuit after stealing 60 million medical records from 10 million patients.
Healthcare IT News reported:

The Internal Revenue Service is now facing a class action lawsuit over allegations that it improperly accessed and stole the health records of some 10 million Americans, including medical records of all California state judges.   Continue reading “IRS Faces Lawsuit After Stealing 60 Million Medical Records”

Godfather Politics – by Philip Hodges

Public figures are more honest when they think no one is watching or listening.

The New Jersey legislature archives their sessions and uploads them to their website for all to listen to. What some of these legislators didn’t realize was that the mic was still on and could pick up what they were saying.   Continue reading ““Hot Mic” Picks Up Dem Lawmakers: “Confiscate, Confiscate, Confiscate””

U.S. Troops in Afghanistan (Photo: Senior Airman Sean Martin, U.S. Air Force)Long Island Press – by Jed Morey

U.S. Military ‘Power Grab’ Goes Into Effect

The manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects offered the nation a window into the stunning military-style capabilities of our local law enforcement agencies. For the past 30 years, police departments throughout the United States have benefitted from the government’s largesse in the form of military weaponry and training, incentives offered in the ongoing “War on Drugs.” For the average citizen watching events such as the intense pursuit of the Tsarnaev brothers on television, it would be difficult to discern between fully outfitted police SWAT teams and the military.   Continue reading “Pentagon Unilaterally Grants Itself Authority Over ‘Civil Disturbances’”

A man who ran away on foot during a car stop on Aug. 9, 2012, in West Philadelphia was eventually shot to death by police after the pursuit.Philly.com – by Sam Wood

The number of violent crimes fell last year in Philadelphia, as did assaults on police officers.

But the number of people shot by police is up.

Way up.

The number of shootings by police in 2012 resulting in death or injury climbed to the highest level it’s been in 10 years. Philadelphia police shot 52 suspects last year while responding to calls for reported crimes. Of those shot, 15 people died.   Continue reading “Shootings by Philly police soar as violent crime plummets”